Sponge Urbanism

Situated in a neighborhood in northeast Detroit, Sponge Urbanism projects a vision for an expanded field of land use and activities. The project seeks to transform the existing, rectilinear, platted urban order into a multi-directional, sponge-like organization with: a lower density of building elements; an introduction of horizontal and communal programs; and, a reduced residential density. Conventional drawing techniques are combined in a manner that encompass a variety of criteria to construct a “view” that, while impossible, establishes a representation of the sponge-like order.